OpenCart is a popular open-source CMS for online stores, written in PHP. It combines ease of administration, template flexibility, and a rich set of built-in features — from catalogs and shopping carts to payment and shipping modules.

OpenCart supports multi-language capabilities, SEO optimization, and integration with popular payment gateways (LiqPay, PayPal, Stripe, etc.). The CMS is suitable for both small stores and corporate solutions with a large number of products.

Environment Preparation

Installation Opencart on hosting

1. Download the latest stable version of OpenCart from the official website.
2. Upload the archive to the ~/www/DOMAIN_NAME directory and unpack it.
3. Create a new database.
4. Open your website’s address (http://DOMAIN_NAME or https://DOMAIN_NAME) in your browser to launch the OpenCart web installer. The installation wizard will appear in the opened window, where you need to sequentially specify the site parameters:

• OpenCart requirements check;

• store name and administrator email;

• login and password for the panel;

• database parameters (DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD).

5. After installation, delete the /install/ directory (the CMS will offer to do this automatically).

Installation Opencart on server

1. Install Nginx / Apache, PHP-FPM, and MySQL.

2. Create the /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME directory and upload the OpenCart archive there.

3. Unpack it and grant permissions to the web user:

   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME
   sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME
   

4. Configure the virtual host in Nginx:

   /etc/nginx/sites-available/opencart.conf

   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name DOMAIN_NAME;
       root /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME/upload;
       index index.php index.html;
       location / {
           try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
       }
       location ~ \.php$ {
           include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
           fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
       }
   }
   

   Activate the site and restart Nginx:

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/opencart.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
   sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
   

Configuring Opencart Additional Features

Configuration Setup

The OpenCart site configuration file is located at:

• VPS: /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME/upload/config.php
• hosting panel: ~/www/DOMAIN_NAME/upload/config.php

The configuration file for the OpenCart admin panel is located at:

• VPS: /var/www/DOMAIN_NAME/upload/admin/config.php
• hosting panel: ~/www/DOMAIN_NAME/upload/admin/config.php

You can find more details in our guide

Connecting an SSL Certificate

To enable secure HTTPS protocol, use Let’s Encrypt or a commercial SSL certificate. After installation, enable Use SSL in the store settings within the OpenCart administration panel.

Performance Optimization

• Enable caching in System → Settings → Server → Use Cache.
• Activate GZIP compression (optimally 6–7).
• Ensure PHP OPcache is enabled.
• Configure cache directories with write permissions (system/storage/cache/).

Verifying Operation

1. Open https://DOMAIN_NAME/admin in your browser — the admin panel should load.
2. Go to Reports → Statistics and confirm that the system is working.
3. Visit https://DOMAIN_NAME/ — the store’s main page should open without errors.
4. Add a test product and check the shopping cart.

Useful Links